Wednesday, February 18, 2015

Jay Godfrey at Mercedes Benz New York Fashion Week

On Saturday morning, we headed to Lincoln Center to see Jay Godfrey's show. After we got our tickets, we were wondering why they did not include any seat numbers (accustomed as we are to front row seats!), but it became immediately obvious when we entered the space. Instead of a runway show, the models appeared on separate stages in a tableau vivant to be viewed and photographed at leisure by the fashion press and prospective buyers.

The designer used a particularly vibrant shade of pink that really popped in person and in photos that he dubbed "passion orchid". (The next 5 high resolution pictures are courtesy of Dan Lecca Photography.)

Charles Price and the Beauty Underground Artistic Team did the hair for the show. Alejandra's sleek hair worked beautifully with this high necked suede, sequin/sheer mesh paneled sheath. On the right behind her is Jessica in a plaid double breasted jacket and on the left is Francesca in a plaid founce hem mini dress.

Makeup was by Anne Kohlhagen for Cozzette and Beauty Blender. Blonde Martyna modeled the passion orchid flare leg trouser and tie-neck blouse. Behind her on the right is Oda in a plaid, suede marsala high neck sheath.

Gia modeled this beautiful passion orchid/silver 4-ply two-tone gown.

Axelle wore a charcoal 4-ply floral print high cut out gown.

We snapped this photo to show how fabulous the gown looked from the back.

Finally, when some of the hoopla had subsided a bit, we got to meet the designer himself, who had incorporated a touch of "passion orchid" into his outfit. He has his own boutique on Washington Street in the trendy Meatpacking District and a website (above) for those who can't get to New York. He also sells at Saks Fifth Avenue.

Roger Padhila from MAO Public Relations was working behind the scenes to make sure everything came off as planned. (It did!)

We ran into a familiar face, Jason Brickhill, at the show.

In the crowd we also spotted our friend Victor John Villanueva of 3PTPOP, wearing one of his unique creations.

Since we last saw photographer Stuart McConaghy at the Skingraft show a year ago, he and his wife Sherri founded a new company, The Decadent Empire, which covers fashion, editorials, art and design.

After the show, we retired to the Mercedes Benz Fashion Week space and stopped to get refreshments and to people watch. Our efforts were immediately rewarded when Vogue's international editor Suzy Menkes showed up to get a cup of java.

All too soon, it was over and we headed back outside. Before the show, Lincoln Center Plaza was nearly devoid of people, perhaps because of the early hour, perhaps because of the bone-chilling, record-breaking cold. By the time we got back outside, things had picked up. We spotted this woman in a vibrant pants suit, and the floppy felt hat that has been revived from its heyday in the '70s.

At the other end of the spectrum was this man, whose outfit is awash in large and small printed robots.

We really like the new trend of men wearing hats and made it a point to snap this gent.

A new trend we spotted (or new to us at least) was people vamping on the Plaza advertising what they were wearing. This woman looked great, but her dress, in addition to being sleeveless, is also backless. How did she manage in the chilly weather?!

This man, also carrying an identifying sign, wore a suit we can imagine a Beatles' fan wearing in 1964. Mod styles were great (though very unforgiving of love handles, as we recall).

And any trip to the Plaza always ends better when one runs into Bill Cunningham. Yes, we were photographed. No, we don't seem to have shown up in the Times. Always the bridesmaids. Seldom the brides.

About Us

GROWING OLD WITH VERVE
‘Growing old gracefully’ is an outdated concept. We prefer ‘growing old with verve’. This blog documents our efforts to live up to that motto, in photos and essays. We embrace our gray hair, while sharing the playground nicely with our younger siblings. Bette Davis was right when she said 'growing old is not for sissies', but it’s also not one of Dante’s circles of hell. Idiosyncratic Fashionistas explores what’s out there for Women of a Certain Age, comments on what’s not out there, and demonstrates that our overlooked demographic is still fabulous.
AND see our long awaited and much ballyhooed public access tv debut, in which we model 12 great hats in 28 minutes:
http://www.blip.tv/file/3206182/
AND see us on StyleLikeU:
http://stylelikeu.com/closets/valerie-and-jean/#comments.
You can visit our complete weekly postings, dating back to August 2, 2009. We update VERY late every Sunday.
THE IDIOSYNCRATIC FASHIONISTAS ARE NOW AVAILABLE FOR CONSULTATIONS ON RETAIL FASHION PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT. To paraphrase Freud, 'What do women of a certain age want?' We know! Ask us. Contact mono.crone@gmail.com.